GRAND RAPIDS -- There's no need for a Ouija board to see what's in store for the Detroit Pistons down the road. The Detroit Pistons' bright future was on full display Wednesday night as the Pistons' youngsters carried the team to a 119-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena.

Detroit's youth got ample opportunities to play on Wednesday because Chauncey Billups (coach's decision) and Richard Hamilton (left ankle sprain) were not playing, and Pistons coach Flip Saunders planned to keep his other starters on the bench for the entire second half. Saunders saw some good things from his young players. He saw some not-so-good stuff, as well.

"Probably the biggest positive was even though they made mistakes, they stayed aggressive," Saunders said. "Down the stretch, they didn't play not to win, they played to make plays. That was a positive."

Rookie Sammy Mejia said one of the reasons why they played so well together was because of the bonds formed on Detroit's summer-league team in July.

"We had a good chemistry when we were out there as a group," said Mejia, who had four points and seven rebounds. "We spent two weeks together in Las Vegas, playing together and practicing. That was good experience."

Detroit got another strong game from third-year forward Jason Maxiell, who had his third double-double of the preseason with 25 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey, starting in place of Billups, had 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Pistons also got a solid performance from rookie center Cheikh Samb.

Samb, who is expected to spend most of this season with Detroit's Development League affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., had eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

"It just goes to show, you give guys some time, they can produce," said Detroit's Rasheed Wallace. "He (Samb) did a couple of good things tonight. Had the (jumper) from the baseline, the jump hook ... Cheikh did his thing tonight."

The Pistons will be expecting more of the same from their young players, whose play has left the team's veterans little choice but to step their level of play up.

"That's the name of the game," said Pistons forward Jarvis Hayes. "The better the competition, the better your game becomes. When you don't have somebody pushing you, you can become lackadaisical and kind of just go through the motions. But anytime you have a very competitive
team, up and down the roster, rookie or veteran, it makes everybody play harder."

"Playing hard" is a phrase seldom associated with a preseason game. Most of the time, preseason games look more like organized rec-league matchups, which was indeed the look and feel of Wednesday's game.

There were bad shots taken and plenty of turnovers by both teams. Power forwards, like Denver's Eduardo Najera, were pushing the ball up the court instead of the point guard -- the kind of thing you seldom see in a regular season game.

Even though the game had a helter-skelter tempo early on, the Pistons -- especially their rookies -- seemed to play with just enough composure and poise. They also made their share of clutch baskets, like the 45-foot bank shot Stuckey made at the end of the first quarter. The
Pistons finished the second quarter in a similar fashion, as Hayes drove into the lane and passed out to Arron Afflalo, who nailed a baseline 3-pointer that gave Detroit a 61-55 halftime lead.

Afflalo, who had 10 points off the bench, was among the Pistons rookies to play well Wednesday night, and in the process, offered a glimpse into what looks like a promising future for the Pistons.

"We got some veterans guys who have been here a while, and this is their team," Afflalo said. "We're trying to join in on that family."